Thousands of more cattle are booked for culling amid a bovine tuberculosis outbreak in Alberta, Canada. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, or CFIA, announced this week a herd of animals known to co-mingle with the six confirmed TB-infected cattle has expanded to cover adult cattle and calves on 18 premises, up from just six. Online publication Ag Canada reports the total size of the herd now runs roughly around 10,000 head of cattle, which either have been or will be destroyed. Nearly all the adult animals in the herd have been tested. However, calves will be destroyed without testing, according to the CFIA. Meat from destroyed animals that are later ruled TB-negative will be eligible for food use. The investigation follows a notice from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that bovine TB was detected in a cow from Alberta at a U.S. packing plant. The strain of the bovine TB organism found so far in the probe is different from strains previously discovered in Canada. It is, however, “closely related” to a strain originating from cattle in central Mexico in 1997.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.